“This is something of a step-down for you, correct?”

  She nodded. “Yes...but I’m looking forward to some real teaching. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching at college, but younger kids absorb knowledge like a sponge, and they accept learning more easily and without too much cynicism. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be great.”

  She relaxed and tried not to think about it.

  The kiss...

  And how she wanted more.

  She wondered if he’d spent much time thinking about it. And she also wondered if he’d kiss her again.

  When they finished their meals and lingered over coffee, Joss suggested they visit his brother Jake.

  “He and Abby have a house on the river. All the rich folk live on the river,” he added and grinned. “A couple of the O’Sullivans have houses there. It’s worth a trip to see how the other half live.”

  “Your brother’s rich?”

  “He started some kind of high-tech security firm when he left the military.”

  They were still talking about it when they headed off a little while later. “You all went off in different directions,” she said of his siblings, “and yet you also all came back here. That’s really something.”

  He nodded and then began talking about different places of significance. “You have to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial, of course.”

  “And that big rock,” she added excitedly. “The one that was in that Spielberg movie—the space movie. It’s called Devil’s Tower, right? Except I think it’s in Wyoming, so I’ll have to wait until I have time to go.”

  He laughed loudly. “It was science fiction and called Close Encounters of The Third Kind. And it’s only about an hour and a half drive, so if you have a hankering to see it, we could go one day.”

  She took another sip of her coffee. “You like science fiction, I suppose?”

  He nodded. “Naturally. What about you?”

  “I love a good rom-com,” she replied and chuckled. “But I love a good thriller, too.”

  “I like old movies, too,” he said as they left the parking lot. “You know, the black and white ones that get shown on TV late at night.”

  “Bogie and Bacall?”

  His gaze widened. “You, too?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “Love them. In fact, I have a bunch of them on DVD.”

  He smiled, and she experienced a deep sense of kinship in that moment. She wouldn’t have imagined it possible to forge such an intense connection with someone in such a short space of time. As they chatted some more, about old movies and aging movie stars, she realized they had a lot of common interests, despite their obvious differences.

  They drove through town and across the bridge and Joss told her how the town used to be two separate towns until they merged about five years earlier.

  “It was better for business,” he said as they turned off and followed the river road. “And for real estate and for local council and the schools. It took some doing to convince some of the older residents that it was the best thing for the town, but eventually the majority won out.”

  She nodded. “People power. I like that.”

  They turned off down a long driveway with a high-security gate. Joss punched in the code and they were quickly driving down another length of driveway. A huge house loomed ahead—two stories, constructed from timber and glass. And it had an incredible view of the river, just as Joss had said.

  “My goodness,” she said as they pulled up outside the house. “Amazing.”

  “Yeah, it’s a nice spot.”

  “That would be a great place to ski,” she said, pointing to the river.

  “You ski?”

  “Love it,” she replied. “I don’t get to do it often enough. You?”

  “I’m not much of a water baby. Snow skiing, now, that’s different. And snowboarding.”

  “We don’t get a lot of snow in California,” she said and made a sad face. “I can teach you how to water-ski if you like, once the weather warms up.”

  “I didn’t realize you were planning on staying for summer?”

  “Spring, then,” she offered. “And perhaps you can teach me to snowboard.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  Her insides flipped over. “Okay, then.”

  A moment later Jake appeared on the steps and they got out of the vehicle. They were ushered inside, and once Abby appeared from the kitchen, Marnie was given a quick tour of the house. “It’s such a beautiful place,” she said as she admired an array of photos on the fireplace mantel. One picture grabbed her attention. It was Abby, standing beside a tall, attractive woman in her seventies. Marnie knew instantly who she was looking at—she had several pictures in the file from the private investigator.

  Patience Reed...her grandmother.

  “That’s my Gran,” Abby said, coming up behind her. “She’s my rock.”

  Marnie’s chest tightened and she swallowed the heat burning her throat. And she said exactly what was on her mind.

  “I’d like to meet her.”

  Abby’s brows rose. “You would?”

  Marnie’s instinct was to backpedal. Now wasn’t the time to divulge anything. “Well... I mean, I’m open to meeting as many people as I can, since I’m new in town.”

  Abby smiled and nodded. “Well, if you like to play bridge, then Gran is who you need. She nails the other competitors at the local tournaments. She’s also in the local theater group and a book club.”

  Marnie’s insides contracted. “She sounds like quite a woman.”

  Abby nodded. “She is. I couldn’t imagine living my life without her.”

  Like I’ve had to...

  The words hovered on the edge of her tongue. But it wasn’t the time for any kind of announcement about who she was and why she was really in Cedar River. Soon, however, she would have to come clean. The more involved she became with Joss, the more important it was for the truth to come out.

  Which might, she suspected, turn out to be the biggest risk of her life.

  Chapter Eight

  “Everything okay?”

  Joss sat down next to Marnie on the sofa while Jake and Abby disappeared to make coffee. She looked a little off, unhappy almost, and he was instantly concerned.

  “I’m fine,” she said and smiled.

  Their thighs touched, but she didn’t pull away, didn’t move, and it occurred to him that only two people completely comfortable with one another would sit like that. A couple. He hadn’t been part of a couple for so long he’d forgotten how much he liked it. Even though logic told him to back off, to go slow, that it didn’t happen in a little over a week...inside, in the deepest part of himself, he was thinking and feeling something else altogether.

  “So, the Templetons are putting their place on the market,” Jake said when they returned, carrying a tray each. “Three properties down from here, right where the river takes on that second bend. Nice house, four bedrooms, single story but set up high on the land, about one and a half acres. He put a new jetty and boathouse in last year. Interested?”

  Joss nodded vaguely. He’d been considering moving for a while and had always liked this part of town. He knew the girls would love living by the water. But...moving from the home he’d shared with Lara didn’t sit quite right. Or maybe it was just the idea of setting up in a new place, alone, without someone at his side.

  “I’ll talk to Leola,” he said and shrugged. Leola Jurgens was the Realtor in town and managed all of his rental properties. “Maybe I could renovate and sell.”

  “Or renovate and live in it,” Jake suggested.

  “You want to move from Mustang Street?” Marnie asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” he replied and was pleased Abby changed the subject to Marnie’s new job.

  “T.J. is looking forward to taking the advanced classes,” Jake said.

  “Where is he today?” Joss asked.

  “With Gran,” Abby supplied. “She has him some Sunday mornings for a few hours, when he’s not at the ranch having a riding lesson. They both love spending time together. The girls are with Lara’s parents this weekend?”

  He nodded. “I have to collect them at four o’clock.”

  “Are they still giving you a hard time?” Jake asked.

  “No more than usual.”

  They hung around for another hour, talking about the town, the hotel and the kids. When they left, Abby made Marnie promise to stop by the restaurant to catch up.

  “They’re so nice,” she said once they were back in the truck and on their way home.

  “I think so. You seemed to have really hit it off with Abby.”

  “Ah...yeah. Better than I...” Her words trailed off and she cleared her throat. “I mean, she’s great. I thought you had a good relationship with your in-laws.”

  It wasn’t posed as a question, but he heard the query in her tone. “It’s complicated. They tried to get custody of the girls after Lara died.”

  She gasped. “Why would they do that?”

  “Because they’d lost their daughter and they weren’t convinced I was a good enough parent to go it alone.”

  “But they must know you are now?”

  “They keep a watchful eye,” he replied. “I was twenty-three and they doubted I’d step up. Maybe they thought I was too much like my own father.”

  “Your father was a drunk and bailed, didn’t he? I’d say you were absolutely nothing like him.”

  “I hope so. I know I would never abandon my kids.”

  “The girls adore you and rightly so. If I ever have children, I hope I have them with someone who is as good a father as you are.”

  Joss’s chest tightened a little. What was she saying? He didn’t want to read anything into it...didn’t want to overthink anything. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. So, do you want kids?”

  It was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?

  “One day,” she said quietly. “I mean, yes, I’d like to have a baby. Maybe two. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about it more, especially since my mom died. Wondering if I’ve spent too much time concentrating on my career and not enough time getting a life.”

  “You shouldn’t think that,” he said. “There’s room in everyone’s life for both. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you can’t have a career and a family. I don’t want my girls to ever think they can’t have both.”

  She reached out and touched his arm for a moment and Joss felt the connection through to his bones. “Well, maybe one day I’ll be lucky. What you said the other night is true, I guess—who knows what the future holds.”

  Strangely, he’d been thinking about the future a lot in the last few days. And about his past. About Lara and Billie-Jack. About moving forward...about letting someone in.

  “So, you’re really thinking about moving to this side of town?”

  He got his thoughts back on track. “Maybe.”

  “For the rich, you said?” she asked, eyes wide. “That’s you?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve invested wisely over the years,” he supplied. “I would probably have to sell the house we’re in now, though, and one of the rentals.”

  “How many rentals do you own?”

  “Three, plus a little commercial real estate.”

  “That’s quite a portfolio for someone so young. You’re...what?...thirty-three?”

  “Thirty-two. You?”

  “I’m coming up to the big three-O in a couple of weeks.”

  “Any plans?”

  “Not so far.” She shrugged.

  Joss sighed. “Marnie...about the other night... I didn’t want to leave, you know. But since we’ve only just met—”

  She cut him off. “It was just a kiss, Joss...no big deal.”

  “Really?” he shot back, his ego taking a tiny hit. “No big deal?”

  “I mean, it was nice, and I like kissing as much as the next person and you’re good at it, so it wasn’t exactly a hardship kissing you back. But you’re right, we don’t know each other very well and I’m trying to settle into this new life in a new place. And you have two kids to consider and don’t want to jump into anything too quickly.” She looked at him sharply. “Isn’t that what you’ve been thinking?”

  “Well...yeah.”

  “Great,” she said and sighed, as if in relief. “We’re on the same page.”

  He doubted that. All day he’d been distracted by her perfume and the way she walked and the sweet temptation of her mouth that he was itching to kiss again. And more.

  “It’s Sissy’s birthday next Saturday and we’re having a party for her at the ranch—would you like to come?”

  “Very much.”

  “And don’t make any plans for your birthday, okay?” he said, dropping his voice an octave. “I’d like to spend the day with you.”

  * * *

  On Monday, Marnie started her new job and had a fabulous day. She spent the morning getting to know her students, doing some reading and discussing lessons related to an upcoming class trip. At lunch break, Clare hung back in the classroom once all the other students were gone, and then again when the day was over, and Marnie was collecting her things.

  “Dakota Harris thinks she knows everything,” Clare announced as she perched on the edge of a desk.

  “That’s probably a little unkind,” Marnie said.

  Clare shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Sometimes she’s mean to me.”

  “I understand,” Marnie said quietly. “But it’s not okay to be mean back, is it?”

  Clare let out a long breath. “I suppose. Daddy says the same thing,” she replied, her small mouth twisting to one side. “Ah—Marn... I mean, Miss Jackson...can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you like my dad?”

  She stilled in her seat. “Of course, I like all of you.”

  “No,” Clare said and flapped her hands. “Do you like him? Like, love him, like him?”

  She wanted to deny it. She wanted to shout out that the kid was way off the mark and after a week a person didn’t have those kinds of feelings. She’d known Heath for almost a year before she started having real feelings, and they’d been dating for months—sleeping together for months—before she dared say the L word. Not a week. Sure, it had been an intense week—but still only a matter of days. And yeah, she’d had a lovely day with him on Sunday. And yeah, he’d kissed her again when they parted and it was mind-blowing and delicious and left her longing for more. But great kisses aside, Marnie wasn’t the kind of person who rushed into things. Even coming to Cedar River had been a planned and calculated move that she’d deliberated over for months.

  “You know, grown-up feelings are complicated and it’s sensible to take things slow.”

  Clare didn’t look convinced. “Even when you’ve met someone you really like, shouldn’t you tell them? I mean, what if something happens?”

  “What kind of something?” Marnie asked, digging deeper.

  “I don’t know...like what if someone dies or something. People die all of the time,” Clare said softly. “Like my mom.”

  Marnie knew she couldn’t brush over Clare’s concerns and fears. She was her teacher and more than that, her friend, and she cared about the youngster.

  “You’re right,” she said gently, moving around to sit on the edge of the desk so they were facing one another. “People do die—people we love—people we think will be with us forever. Like how you lost your mom, and how I lost my mom. And it’s sad and it hurts and we get mad about it and mad with them and we cry and that’s okay. We’re allowed to be mad and be hurt and cry.”

  “Even when it makes us feel bad?”

  “Even then,” she assured her.

  “But how can I be mad at someone I don’t remember?” Clare asked, so quietly and with so much pain it made Marnie’s heart ache for her.

  “Because she was your mom and you’re allowed to miss her and wish she hadn’t died. You’re allowed to be mad at her, too, for leaving you. And it doesn’t matter that you can’t remember her very well. You’re a part of her memories and you always will be. You can still love her, even though she’s not here.”

  Clare’s eyes were glistening brightly, like she’d just admitted something that was secret and sacred to her, and then more words tumbled out. “I wish I had a mom now. My best friend, India, she has a mom and a stepmom, and they get to do all kinds of great things together—like go to the mall and hang out and look at dresses and stuff. I know Daddy will take me shopping if I ask him, ’cause he takes Sissy when she says she needs stuff.”

  Marnie turned in her chair and took hold of Clare’s hand. “And you’re so lucky you have a such a wonderful dad.”

  “I know,” Clare said. “But I just wish—”

  “It’s okay to wish for things,” Marnie said, gently cutting her off. “As long as you remember to be grateful for all the good things you have.”

  Marnie heard a noise and looked toward the door, spotting Joss filling the doorway, in work clothes, looking scruffy, soiled and undeniably masculine.

  “Hey, Dad!” Clare announced and slipped off the desk, blinking the tears away.

  “Hey, kiddo, have you had a good day?”

  “The best,” she replied and grinned. “Miss Jackson rocks as a teacher.”

  He smiled and Marnie’s belly did a silly and familiar dive. “Go and wait in the truck, will you?”

  “Okay, Dad. Bye, Miss Jackson,” she said, suddenly cheerful as she raced from the room.

  He stepped into the room and she straightened. “How much of that did you hear?”

  “Enough to know she’s hurting.”

  “She’s just trying to work out her feelings.”